I don’t have much of a high opinion of most of what’s on the Japanese light novel market. Forget plot—just the basic flow of the prose is a huge problem. The ones that are actually tolerable to read are few and far between; most sit at a middle-schooler’s level of storytelling: blunt, simple developments, boring-as-hell girls throwing themselves at the protagonist, and a bunch of vague posturing about “allies of justice.” Honestly, not many of them feel fresh. In that respect I prefer Chinese works. Of course, that’s understandable. Light novels as a product rose up hand in hand with their illustrations, so there’s a saying for the ones with bad writing and good art: “You’re buying the illustrations, and the toilet paper comes free.” The most disgusting thing isn’t someone ugly—it’s someone ugly who thinks they’re good-looking. The most idiotic thing isn’t someone who looks like an idiot—it’s an idiot who keeps strutting around like a big shot. That’s more or less how I see most light novels too, but there are exceptions. The “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat is one.